Dreaming of Tomorrow
by Rocketshipping Koneko
Summary: When Ash and company find Jessie buried in the snow, nearly frozen, ubconcious, and injured, ther are a lot of questions to be asked. Why was she there? What, or who, hurt her? Where are James and Meowth? But, once Jessie wakes, Ash and his friends are going to find out that getting those answers won't be as easy as they thought it'd be. Rocketshipping & Pokeshipping.


_A/N: Hi, everyone! Welcome to another story by moi! I hope you all enjoy it, and don't forget to review!_

* * *

It was a cold, yet beautiful, day. The sun hung high in the clear, bright blue sky. Snow sat on the ground. The little electric mouse Pikachu ran ahead of the group, every so often looking back to see if his friends were catching up.

"Just admit it, Ash," Misty said, irritated. "We're lost. Again."

"We're not lost, Misty," Ash said, and flashed one of his bright smiles. "We're just… off course."

Misty narrowed her eyes. "That's the same thing as lost, Ash!"

Ash laughed, and pulled out the folded, crumpled map from his backpack. "We have to be somewhere on this map…"

Misty groaned while Brock just laughed. "Let me see that map, Ash. Maybe I can figure out where we are."

Ash does what was asked of him. He watched as Brock carefully looked at the map, trying hard to figure out where they were. "Aha!" he suddenly exclaimed. Misty looked over to him, and Ash walked behind him to take a look at the map. "I think I found where we are." He pointed to an area on the map that looked like a forest. "We're here," he said, and moved his finger away from the forest area. "We want to be here. It will take us about thirty minutes or so until we can get to where we want to be."

"Thirty minutes?" Misty groaned. "If only Mr. I-Know-Where-We're-Going actually knew where we were going, we'd probably be there by now!"

"It's not my fault!" Ash cried in defense.

Misty narrowed her eyes at him. "Then who's fault is it?"

"Whoever's fault it is doesn't matter," Brock said. "What does matter is getting out of this forest and into the next city before the blizzard hits."

"Blizzard?" Misty repeated, and groaned again. "I completely forgot that there was going to be a blizzard today! Thanks to Ash, we're probably not going to make it to somewhere warm and safe before the storm hits us."

As if on cue, the first snowflake fell from the now-dark and stormy looking sky. Misty looked up as it hit her nose, and narrowed her eyes at Ash, who smiled sheepishly and hid behind Brock for protection from her wrath.

"It's not my fault!" Ash cried again. "I swear, it isn't! I forgot about this blizzard as much as you did!"

Misty growled, and was about to say something when Brock stepped in, ever the peacemaker. "Let's not fight, okay?" he said. "Let's worry about getting to shelter. Then you can tear each other's heads off."

"Fine," Misty growled out.

Ash was about to respond, but Pikachu cried out, "Pika pi!"

"Pikachu?" Ash said. "What is it?"

"Pikachu pi," the electric mouse exclaimed. He stood on the side of the path, and stared at a pile of snow larger than the rest. He began to dig.

"Pikachu?" Ash said again, and ran towards his Pokémon friend. "What did you find?"

Pikachu kept digging, until he hit his target. Misty and Brock both ran to catch up to them, and Misty's eyes widened at the sight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "It – It's…"

"… It's Jessie…"

Yes, it was true. Laying halfway buried in the snow was Team Rocket's Jessie; unconscious, injured, and nearly frozen.

"Oh, my god," Misty choked out. She covered her mouth with her hands, as her eyes widened at the sight of the woman she and her friends called enemy.

Ash, ever the hero and savior, ran forward. He helped Pikachu finish digging her out of the snow, and, fueled by adrenaline and the sudden urge to help, lifted her easily into his arms. "Come on!" he called to his friends, who instantly followed as he ran in the direction of the edge of the forest. "We need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible, or she will… die!"

Misty and Brock followed their friend. The snow became heavier, and, soon, the wind blew furiously. Their bodies shivered, and their teeth chattered. Still, Ash moved forward, desperate to help.

"We need to stop, Ash!" Misty called. "We'll all die if we keep going! We need to set up camp!"

"No!" Ash said, and shook his head. He glanced back at Misty with narrowed eyes and growled out in a low voice, "I'm not giving up! I'm not letting her die!"

"Why do you even care, Ash?" Brock asked curiously. "All they've ever done is caused us trouble. They've been trying to steal your Pikachu since the dawn of time. Why do you care if one of them dies?"

Ash glared at Brock's harsh words. "I bet if any of us were in such a situation, they'd do anything to help us. They've always came around when we needed it the most. They're not all bad. If you want to stay behind, then that's fine. But, I'm helping. How about you, Pikachu?"

Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder and squeaked out, "Pi pikachu!"

Misty stares at Ash, dumbfounded by his mature words. She had to agree with him. Whenever they were in need of help, or when the world was in danger, Team Rocket had always came around and proved that they weren't all bad.

"I'm in!" Misty said, and hurried up to catch up to Ash. Brock stared after her, before he hurried up, too.

"Hey!" he cried. "Wait for me!"

* * *

They make it to the nearest town less than thirty minutes later. The storm had became much worse. The temperature dropped even more, and the wind picked up. Ash held the unconscious, trembling Jessie closer to him in an attempt to keep the cold at bay.

"Now, we have to find the hospital," Ash said, and looked around. No one was out. The town's streets were empty, save for a few lone people and stray Pokémon.

"Ash!" Misty called, and he turned to look at her. "Over there!"

Ash looked, and, there it was, a few miles before them – the hospital.

"Come on!" Ash cried, and began to run through the heavy snow once more. As always, Misty and Brock followed him.

They make it there in about five minutes . Ash ran through the double doors, and headed towards the front desk, where an older woman with long, wavy hair and glasses perched on her nose stood.

"Miss!" Ash cried, and she looked, and gasped at the sight before her. "Please, you need to help! She's injured, and needs help!"

"Hang on!" the older woman said, and called for help. Instantly, doctors ran out of the back area, and towards the Ash and the group. One young looking man gently took Jessie out of Ash's arms, and hurried back through the doors.

"Where did you find her?" an older man with graying hair asked Ash.

"In the forest," he explained. "She was buried in the snow. I don't know how long she was out there."

"It's a good thing you found her when you did, young man," the man said. "If you came any later, chances are, she could have died."

Ash's face paled. "Thank god I found her, then…"

"Is she going to be okay?" Misty asked.

"After we get her through surgery and warmed up, she'll be as good as new," the doctor told Misty with a comforting smile. Misty smiled back and nodded.

"That's good," she murmured.

"Why don't you children sit in the waiting room, and we'll come out and tell you when everything is ready, okay?" the doctor said, and Ash and his friends all nodded.

Ash walked to the waiting room, and sat down on one of the hard, uncomfortable chairs. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He wondered what happened to Jessie. He wondered where James and Meowth were. He wondered why she was alone, and not with her friends.

As Ash began to fall asleep, he expected that he'd get all those answers once she woke up.


End file.
